Manchester City added a fifth trophy to their successful 2023 campaign by winning the Club World Cup for the first time in Saudi Arabia, continuing the trend of European teams dominating a tournament that has lost its competitiveness.
Since Corinthians defeated Chelsea in 2012, no Champions League winner has failed to clinch the world championship. City's 4-0 victory over Fluminense marked their 22nd consecutive win in the competition for European sides.
A lack of excitement has prompted a transformation of the competition, starting in 2025.
The current format, with seven teams playing in a knockout stage over a little more than a week, will be replaced by a 32-team competition spread over the course of a month in the United States in two years.
FIFA is making a move against the European governing body, UEFA, by aiming to capitalize on the commercial appeal of Europe's elite clubs competing in a knockout format.
The inclusion of 12 European clubs will increase competition, but the risk is that a tournament designed to determine the best team in the world could turn into a mini version of the Champions League every four years.
The decision to pack more games into an already congested schedule has faced backlash from the players' union FIFPRO.
The 2025 Club World Cup, scheduled to run from June 15 to July 13, means one club season will finish barely a month before another begins.
FIFA argues that it's necessary to distribute resources to major clubs in other continents to prevent the continual flow of the best talent from around the globe to Europe.
"The positive impact this will have on clubs is going to be huge because it will increase resources for clubs all over the world to develop and compete," said Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development. "In Europe, we are lucky, but it's important that we make football truly global, and this creates a chance for other clubs to progress; this is the real target."
Saudi clubs on rise
The inevitability that the world's best players end up in Europe is starting to be challenged by the host of this year's Club World Cup.
The Saudi Pro League has signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar among the star names in its first wave of major signings.
Benzema's Al-Ittihad, also featuring former Champions League winners N'Golo Kante and Fabinho, lost 3-1 to African champions Al Ahly in the quarterfinals.
However, with the project to turn Saudi, which will host the 2034 World Cup, into a football powerhouse just beginning, its clubs could be in a far stronger position to threaten in 2025.
The Gulf Kingdom's first hosting of a major international football tournament did not pass without hitches.
The 62,000 King Abdullah International Stadium was far from full for the semi-finals and final, despite strong traveling support from Fluminense and Al Ahly.
City boss Pep Guardiola and Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz also expressed their frustration with the state of the pitch for the tournament's marquee matches.
Despite concerns consistently raised by human rights groups, there was little to discourage FIFA from bringing more events to Saudi.
Critics believe that under its 38-year-old de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, there is an attempt to "sportswash" its human rights record.
The world's largest exporter of oil is quickly becoming a go-to sports destination with major events, including a Formula One Grand Prix, championship boxing bouts, tennis and golf tournaments.
A future Club World Cup in 2029 or 2033 in preparation for FIFA's main event in 2034 is also a distinct possibility as long as Saudi seeks to invest its wealth in football.